Movie theaters have shut their doors to the public due to Covid -19. To offset lost revenues, some have teamed with distribution companies and created online platforms where viewers can watch new releases virtually. VOA’s Penelope Poulou spoke with a distributor and a theater manager about the new viewing model …

The coronavirus has revived a hairstyle in East Africa, one with braided spikes that echo the virus’ distinctive shape.  The style’s growing popularity is in part due to economic hardships linked to virus restrictions — it’s cheap, mothers say — and to the goal of spreading awareness that the coronavirus is real.The hairstyle had gone out of fashion in recent years as imported real and synthetic hair from India, China and Brazil began to flood the market and demand by local women increased. Pictures of the flowing or braided imported styles are tacked up in beauty salons across much of Africa.  But now, in a makeshift salon beside a busy road in Kibera, a slum in the heart of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, 24-year-old hairdresser Sharon Refa braids young girls’ hair into the antennae-like spikes that people call the “coronavirus hairstyle.” Girls shift in the plastic chairs as she tugs at their scalps.”Some grown-ups don’t believe that the coronavirus is real, but then most young children appear keen to sanitize their hands and wear masks. So many adults do not do this, and that is why we came up with the corona hairstyle,” Refa said, her face mask tucked under …

Comedy star of stage, film and television Jerry Stiller has died at the age of 92.His son, actor Ben Stiller, said he died early Monday of natural causes.Stiller became famous in the 1960s as he teamed with wife Anne Meara in films, stage productions, commercials, and television programs, including the “Ed Sullivan Show.”He found renewed fame in the 1990s playing the cranky, loud Frank Costanza on the TV show “Seinfeld.”  He won his only Emmy award for the role.Stiller’s career also included roles in Broadway shows “The Ritz” and “Hurlyburly,” as well as hit movies “Hairspray” and “Zoolander.”   …

This is a story about books in an unlikely place, and their struggle to get into the hands of people during a national lockdown. South Africa’s eased lockdown means books are finally available for sale again, but in the nation’s biggest city, with its reputation for speed and hustle, do people care? VOA’s Anita Powell takes us on a literary journey through the unlikeliest of literary towns: Johannesburg. …

The National Football League has time on its side as the sports world prepares to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and will use some it to observe German soccer’s Bundesliga as a potential blueprint on how to deal with the outbreak.The NFL, which is due to kick off on Sept. 10 and has not yet seen its schedule affected by the novel coronavirus, is paying close attention to protocols other leagues, particularly the Bundesliga, are putting in place in a bid to restart play, according to a report in Newsday.The top-flight Bundesliga season will restart on May 16, making it the first European league to resume amid the pandemic that has infected more than 3.95 million people globally and killed more than 270,000.”We’ve been in contact with all domestic leagues, but also sports organizations around the world,” Brian McCarthy, the NFL’s vice president of communications, told Newsday.“We have a number of protocols, see what works, see what can translate into our sport.”We’re all in the sports business, but every sport has its own matters to attend to.”Germany’s top flight will resume under strict health protocols, with no fans allowed in stadiums.All teams have had to go into a seven-day training …

Treats made and delivered by neighbors. Fresh garden plantings dug from a safe 6 feet away. Trips around the world set up room-to-room at home.Mother’s Day this year is a mix of love and extra imagination as families do without their usual brunches and huggy meet-ups.As the pandemic persists in keeping families indoors or a safe social distance apart, online searches have increased for creative ways to still make moms feel special.Absent help from schools and babysitters, uninitiated dads are on homemade craft duty with the kids. Other loved ones are navigating around no-visitor rules at hospitals and senior-living facilities.Some medical facilities are pitching in by collecting voice and video recordings from locked-out relatives when patients are unable to manage the technology on their own.In suburban St. Louis, Steve Turner and his family hope to FaceTime with his 96-year-old mother, Beverly, but they plan something more, too. Her birthday coincides with Mother’s Day this year.”We’re going to create a big Mother’s Day-birthday banner signed by the kids and grandkids who live here,” Turner said. “She loves butterflies and we’ll draw some on. We’re working with the home to find a place where we can stand outside a window so she …

Stone by stone, digital artists and game developers from Mosul are rebuilding Nineveh’s heritage sites in the digital world.By looking through a virtual reality headset, a person can see the wonders of ancient Iraq. Via VR, it’s possible to fly over Nergal Gate, built 2,700 years ago, and see two winged bulls at its entrance.”Since we started the virtual reality lab, we tried to focus on Mosul’s archaeological sites,” said project co-ordinator Moyasser Nasseer. “It is an opportunity for people to discover archaeological sites that still exist as well as sites recently destroyed by Daesh (Islamic State) when they occupied Mosul.”QAF Media Lab designers want to create an immersive game, in which players solve mysteries to discover Nineveh’s heritage sites. They hope it might also draw tourists. (Reuters video screenshot)Nineveh was an Assyrian city in ancient Mesopotamia. It’s around where modern-day Mosul is located in northern Iraq.The designers want to create an immersive game in which players solve mysteries to discover Nineveh’s heritage sites. They hope it might draw tourists to an area recovering from recent conflicts, said artist Basma Qais.”First of all, we want to redefine the national identity of people living in Mosul, encourage tourism and also have …

Little Richard, the self-proclaimed “architect of rock `n’ roll” whose piercing wail, pounding piano and towering pompadour irrevocably altered popular music while introducing black R&B to white America, has died Saturday. He was 87.Pastor Bill Minson, a close friend of Little Richard’s, told The Associated Press that Little Richard died Saturday morning. Minson said he also spoke to Little Richard’s son and brother.Minson added that the family is not releasing the cause of death.Born Richard Penniman, Little Richard was one of rock `n’ roll’s founding fathers who helped shatter the color line on the music charts, joining Chuck Berry and Fats Domino in bringing what was once called “race music” into the mainstream. Richard’s hyperkinetic piano playing, coupled with his howling vocals and hairdo, made him an implausible sensation — a gay, black man celebrated across America during the buttoned-down Eisenhower era.He sold more than 30 million records worldwide, and his influence on other musicians was equally staggering, from the Beatles and Otis Redding to Creedence Clearwater Revival and David Bowie. In his personal life, he wavered between raunch and religion, alternately embracing the Good Book and outrageous behavior.”Little Richard? That’s rock `n’ roll,” Neil Young, who heard Richard’s riffs …

The U.N. Security Council reflected Friday on the lessons learned from World War II on the 75th anniversary of its end in Europe, as the world faces its biggest collective challenge since then — the coronavirus.“How we react to the new challenge before us — the COVID-19 pandemic — could be as significant as how the world rebuilt after fascism was vanquished,” U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo told a virtual meeting of more than 80 nations, including nearly 50 foreign ministers, organized by Estonia, which presides over the Security Council this month.The end of six brutal years of war, massive death and destruction in Europe marked a turning point. From the devastation, the European Union, the United Nations and NATO were born, along with a new world order. The European High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell attends a video conference with Europeans Foreign Ministers in Brussels, Belgium, April 22, 2020.  “COVID-19 is a test of our humanity, but also of the multilateral system itself,” European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said of the disease caused by the coronavirus. “The rules-based international order — with the U.N. at its core — must be upheld and strengthened.”He expressed concern that the pandemic has rattled societies and exposed vulnerable nations to great peril.“It has the potential to deepen existing conflicts and generate …

If DNA is destiny, it took an unexpected turn when the grandson of legendary World War II commander General Claire Lee Chennault was growing up.General Claire Lee Chennault (1890-1958), who commanded the legendary Flying Tigers and later the 14th Air Force in China, landed on the covers of Time and Life magazines during WWII. (U.S. Air Force)New York-based jazz musician Paul Sikivie says he was brought up with “a sense of awe” regarding his grandfather, one of the most storied commanders in the Asia theater during that war. But “he belonged to the world at large and not so much to me.” Sikivie is one of two grandsons of Chennault and his second wife, Anna. His mother is a noted medieval Chinese literature specialist, his father a Belgian-American physicist. “I wanted to be a geneticist for a while after ‘Jurassic Park’ was made into a movie; I never thought about Chinese language and literature as something for me,” Sikivie, now 37, recalled as he looked back on his childhood aspirations. By age 14, Sikivie knew he wanted to be a musician. Four years later, he knew his calling was jazz. “St. Thomas by Sonny Rollins came on NPR and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” he said of jazz’s enduring appeal. Paul Sikivie plays the bass …

The U.N. Security Council reflected Friday on the lessons learned from World War II on the 75th anniversary of its end in Europe, as the world faces its biggest collective challenge since then — the coronavirus.“How we react to the new challenge before us — the COVID-19 pandemic — could be as significant as how the world rebuilt after fascism was vanquished,” U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo told a virtual meeting of more than 80 nations, including nearly 50 foreign ministers, organized by Estonia, which presides over the Security Council this month.The end of six brutal years of war, massive death and destruction in Europe marked a turning point. From the devastation, the European Union, the United Nations and NATO were born, along with a new world order. The European High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell attends a video conference with Europeans Foreign Ministers in Brussels, Belgium, April 22, 2020.  “COVID-19 is a test of our humanity, but also of the multilateral system itself,” European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said of the disease caused by the coronavirus. “The rules-based international order — with the U.N. at its core — must be upheld and strengthened.”He expressed concern that the pandemic has rattled societies and exposed vulnerable nations to great peril.“It has the potential to deepen existing conflicts and generate …

While the White House looks ahead to reopening houses of worship, most Americans think in-person religious services should be barred or allowed only with limits during the coronavirus pandemic — and only about a third say that prohibiting in-person services violates religious freedom, a new poll finds. The survey by the Center for Public Affairs Research suggests that, even as President Donald Trump projects eagerness to reopen, many religious Americans are fine with waiting longer to return to their churches, synagogues and mosques. Among that group is 54-year-old Andre Harris of Chicago, a onetime Sunday school teacher who has shifted his routine from physical worship to the conference calls his church is holding during the pandemic. Harris, a Methodist, said that until “either there’s a vaccine, or if we know that things have calmed down, I am not comfortable going back to the actual building.” Just 9% of Americans think in-person religious services should be permitted without restrictions, while 42% think they should be allowed with restrictions and 48% think they should not be allowed at all, the poll shows. Even among Americans who identify with a religion, 45% say in-person services shouldn’t be allowed at all. White evangelical Protestants, …

The Bundesliga soccer season will resume on May 16 in empty stadiums, picking up right where it left off two months ago amid the coronavirus pandemic.Thursday’s announcement comes one day after clubs were told the season could restart following a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the country’s 16 state governors.”Everyone has to be clear. We’re playing on probation,” German soccer league managing director Christian Seifert said. “I expect everyone to live up to this responsibility. Our concept is designed to catch infections early.”Seifert said the return of soccer was because of the success the country’s leaders and health officials have had in response to the outbreak.Germany has had a high number of COVID-19 infections — nearly 170,000 by Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University — with about 7,000 deaths, a lower number compared to elsewhere.The country’s relative success in combating the virus has been attributed to early testing, a robust health service and strict lockdown measures that are now being loosened.”That we’re allowed to play again boils down to German politics for managing this crisis, and the health system in Germany,” Seifert said. “If I were to name the number of tests that I was asked about in …

Mandopop superstar Jay Chou is bringing a little magic into viewers’ lives with his Netflix show “J-Style Trip.”   Part travelogue, part magic performance, the show has Chou diving into adventures around the world with his A-lister friends.   “Magic is actually like music. It is a universal language,” Chou told The Associated Press in Taiwan recently.   Chou and his friends take their magic tricks everywhere – from Pompidou in Paris to a local food court in Singapore – taking homebound viewers on virtual trips amid pandemic shutdowns.   “I wanted to show the warmness and friendliness of people around the world, and how people connect with each other in different ways,” Chou said.   Each episode features a special guest like Taiwanese singer Jam Hsiao, Singaporean singer Wayne Lim Junjie, better known as JJ Lin, and classical pianist Lang Lang.   Chou’s especially excited about Lang Lang’s upcoming appearance. “Lang Lang, in fact, is a very humorous and really fun person,” Chou said of the classical superstar who has a whopping 15 million followers on his social media.   He couldn’t resist giving a sneak peek, revealing that Lang Lang will show up in hip-hop attire and fake …

Photographers and models typically go from one photo shoot to another. COVID-19 pandemic restrictions are making their jobs challenging, but just like thousands of people around the world, they are finding a way to work. Iacopo Luzi reports in this piece adapted by Cristina Smit. …

Dancer and choreographer Nicolas Maloufi has not worked since France went into lockdown in mid-March, and his daily yoga sessions in a borrowed Paris apartment are his only form of training.  Although France will begin easing its unprecedented curbs on public life from Monday, with shops re-opening and some pupils returning to primary school, the doors to the country’s cinemas, theaters and concert halls will remain closed.   For Maloufi, 49, who has collaborated with venues including the Philharmonie de Paris and the Etoile du Nord theater, that means his productions are on hold. Nor is it easy to line up any more projects.   “I’m waiting for responses from about 20 bookers who are not available. I don’t dare chase them, it’s almost indecent given how many things they have to handle,” he told Reuters.   Maloufi is among those in France’s creative industry known as “intermittents” — the dancers, singers, comedians and technicians who work from gig to gig and receive state stipends to help cover costs between jobs if they work at least 507 hours per year.  French President Emmanuel Macron, wearing a protective face mask, speaks with schoolchildren during a class at the Pierre Ronsard elementary school, May 5 2020 in Poissy, outside Paris.With the entertainment industry shut down by …

Atlanta’s new archbishop will be installed Wednesday in a socially-distant Mass, adapting some Catholic traditions in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Inside the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta, a small number of priests will look on from a choir loft, while a handful of others in attendance will be seated strategically in the church’s main nave, well away from the altar, Deacon Dennis Dorner said. And instead of hugs, priests will applaud as Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer becomes the new leader of the Catholic Church in Atlanta. “One of the challenges was just keeping the tradition but figuring out how to do that without having all the people there who are typically there,” said Maureen Smith, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. Typically, the cathedral would be packed for such an occasion. Guests would include Pope Francis’ representative, the papal nuncio, who would present Hartmayer with the papal bull, a document inscribed in Latin appointing Hartmayer to his post. Rather than traveling to Atlanta, the nuncio will appear by video for that portion of Wednesday’s service. “We would typically have a full cathedral, a couple of hundred priests,” who would come up to the altar to greet …

Soccer players in Spain returned to their team’s training camps Wednesday for the first time since the country entered a lockdown nearly two months ago because of the coronavirus pandemic.Players for Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and other clubs started preparing for the return to training this week. They were all expected to be tested for COVID-19 and should be cleared to practice once the results are back. Most clubs are expected to resume practicing by the end of the week.The majority of players did not wear masks or gloves when they arrived, according to Spanish media. Lionel Messi, Gerard Piqué and Luis Suárez were among those without masks when they drove into Barcelona’s training center. Antoine Griezmann, Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic did wear masks. Sergi Roberto arrived without a mask but had one on when he left.Real Madrid players Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema arrived without masks, as did most of their teammates.Atlético Madrid posted some photos of its players arriving for tests wearing gloves and masks.Our first team players continue to carry out tests before training resumes.➡ https://t.co/3aipyTKfkX🔴⚪ #AúpaAtletipic.twitter.com/GxXgU1tV9Z— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) May 6, 2020In general, players didn’t stay long at the club facilities, …

Educating children about something as complicated and frightening as the coronavirus is not easy. Nigerian filmmaker Niyi Akinmolayan decided to use the universal symbol of a big, green cartoon monster with sharp teeth. “There was a struggle to try and explain to my five-year-old what it meant for everyone to be on the lockdown,” Akinmolayan told VOA. “But beyond that was also to explain to them what the coronavirus was and how to get them washing their hands.” In a 93-second animated video, a young boy named Habeeb desperately wants to go out to play football. His older sister, Funke, warns him that because of the virus, playing with his friends is unsafe. “Mummy will be sick, no more jollof rice. Daddy will be sick, no more going out to see movies,” Funke says. An uncertain Habeeb peeks out through the door to see a giant, green coronavirus-shaped monster roaring. He slams the door screaming “it’s real, it’s real.” Akinmolayan said he wanted to make the impact the virus is having come alive for children, but also empower them to prevent it. “I kept failing at every logical attempt I made until I came up with the idea of the monster that was outside. And the …

A California appeals court on Tuesday overturned most of a 2017 jury verdict awarding Quincy Jones $9.4 million in royalties and fees from the Michael Jackson estate over the use of Jones-produced Jackson hits in the concert film “This Is It” and two Cirque du Soleil shows.The state’s 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that the jury misinterpreted a contract that was the judge’s job to interpret anyway. It took away $6.9 million that jurors had said MJJ Productions owed Jones for his work on “Billie Jean,” “Thriller,” and more of Jackson’s biggest hits.The appeals court found that the jury wrongly granted Jones money from licensing fees, wrongly went beyond the 10% royalty rate Jones was owed for record sales, and incorrectly granted Jones money for remixes of Jackson’s master recordings.The court kept intact $2.5 million of the award, which Jones said he was owed for the use of his masters in “This Is It” and other fees.The court also rejected a counter-appeal from the 87-year-old Jones arguing that the trial court should have allowed him to make a claim of financial elder abuse.”While we disagree with portions of the Court’s decision and are evaluating our options going forward, we …

Danny Lin cruised his white sports car down Broadway, the bright lights of Times Square gleaming off his sharply detailed Audi R8. He looped through the tourist hotspot again and again, navigating around Corvettes, Mercedes, Mustangs and BMWs — a parade of high-priced vehicles gathered for a rare photo-op.”I never bring my car here,” said the 24-year-old from Queens. “Only for today, to get some cool shots.”From a star turn in “Taxi Driver” to the Naked Cowboy to the million people who crowd its streets on New Year’s Eve, the “Crossroads of the World” has for generations been an iconic New York backdrop in movies, culture and the arts. Now, Times Square has taken a turn toward Tokyo Drift, just without the “Fast and the Furious,” as car-loving New Yorkers flock to the barren streets of the theater district.Car mavens normally wouldn’t dare rev their engines in gridlocked Midtown, but they’re eagerly driving into Manhattan to take photos and show off for sparse crowds walking through the famed streets.  With the weather turning toward summer and restlessness settling in after six weeks of mandated social distancing, hundreds of automobile aficionados rolled down Broadway on Saturday night.”This is the only time …

South Korea reported just three new coronavirus cases Tuesday, while the country’s professional baseball league returned to action with a slate of games played in stadiums without fans.    Two months ago, South Korea was adding around 500 new cases each day, but used a series of measures, including aggressive testing and a smartphone app alerting people to nearby infections, to push down the spread of the virus.    Sports leagues all over the world were forced to put their seasons on hold amid stay-at-home orders and limits on public gatherings.    The Korea Baseball Organization is one of the first to resume play, and in a sign of the appetite for watching sports at this time, the league struck a deal to have some of its games broadcast on the U.S. cable sports giant ESPN in the middle of the night, U.S. time.    The U.S. National Football League is set to announce its schedule Tuesday, but has decided to abandon plans to hold games this season in London and Mexico City.  New Zealand is also reporting promising progress with its second consecutive day of zero new cases.  Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Tuesday they were working on a plan to reopen travel between the two countries, but cautioned …

Players for the U.S. women’s national team may have been dealt a blow by a judge’s ruling in their gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation but the case is far from over.  The women have vowed to keep up the fight, encouraged by the likes of Joe Biden, Billie Jean King and even the men’s national team.  “This is just a setback,” King said when asked what she would tell the team. “There’s so many of these ups and downs. Just keep learning from it, keep going for it. You’re still such a great influence, not only in soccer, but for equality for everyone.”  King, who was calling for equitable prize money in tennis in the 1970s, once famously proclaimed: “Everyone thinks women should be thrilled when we get crumbs, and I want women to have the cake, the icing and the cherry on top, too.” The players sued the federation last year, claiming they have not been paid equally under their collective bargaining agreement to what the men’s national team receives under its labor deal. They asked for more than $66 million in damages under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  The federal judge …